Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

How do I pull the rods on my 69 4001 and re arch them and put them back in.

Do they come out through the headstock??

Well, first you find a dead chicken, then you place it in a plastic bag......

Seriously, this is a good question....I am also interested in finding out....

another reason I sold all of my pre 1986 basses ...

Im going to go with the chicken in the plastic bag bit, that I can do.Thanks Chris

Easy. Yes they come out the top end. First question for you.... Does the headstock on this bass have a back tilt or not? I'll walk you through it, I've done both my 1999's.

No! Gerry, its straight[not gay]LOL

Ken-
The rods come out the headstock.
You'll need to slip a piece of cardstock
under them so you won't mar the face.
Also- put a clamp on the neck between the 1st fret
and the nut- this will prevent f-board pop-off.
Using a pair of locking pliers ; lift the rod ends out of the
peghead cavity- they Should slip out with some resistance.
If they're real tight in the channels,you might need to take a length of 3/16 round stock and insert at the heal end
and tap on it with a small hammer(I use the brass head
of my fret hammer).
Be careful!

So I undo the rod bolts take out the aluminum block then proceed to take them[the rods] out one at a time?

How and to what degree do I re-arch them?

Yeah-
You've got it. Bolts and block need to come off first.

To re-arch is pretty easy- I just bend them over my knee.
I shoot for a nice even curve with about 1 inch of deflection from the ends. What's a little more important is how the rods fit in the channel. They must fit fairly snug so that the
top bears against the finger board and the bottom bears against the channel.

Another thing to remember with the old rods is that when adjusting- you need to bend the neck into the desired position, and then tighten the nuts. Also, tighten the nuts
equally until the very minor adjustments are needed at the end.

I ussually let the body hang off my leg while holding the headstock or upper neck then tighten the bolts.

You may have to push the rods into the neck to make it easier to get the nuts off as you unscrew them and to remove the block, then push the rods back out from the heel end.

How'd you go Ken?

A lighter choice of string might help. I re arched the Rods with little effect.

What guage do you have on right now?

I dont know they were on it when I bought it,I do know there Elixirs?